Arthur Miller's complex family dynamics had a significant impact on his work. Growing up in a Jewish immigrant family during the Great Depression, Miller experienced financial instability and cultural conflicts that manifested in his writing. His relationship with his father, a businessman, and his mother, a teacher, influenced his understanding of success and failure. Miller’s examination of American identity and morality in plays like "Death of a Salesman" reflects these family tensions. The struggle for personal and societal meaning, often derived from his familial experiences, is a recurring theme in his explorations of the American condition.